Top 15 History and War Museums in Vietnam

Together with the beautiful scenery and delicious cuisine, many people worldwide travel to Vietnam to learn about its long and heroic history of struggle and development. The visitors can be veterans who come to recall the past and find the healing in their souls or family members who study about the sacrifices of their previous generations or simply history buffs. Museums will be ideal places to meet these needs with a collection of important artifacts which present the valuable visuals & information of the country’s and local regional history in the wars.

In this post, we would like to introduce the top list of Museums about History and War in Vietnam so you can add them in your visit to our fascinating country. Let’s find them out!

History and War Museums in North Vietnam.

Vietnam National Museum of History (Hanoi).

Add: No. 1, Trang Tien – No. 216 Tran Quang Khai Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City
Opening hours: Every day except 1st Monday of each month, 8.00am – 12.00pm  / 1.30pm – 5.00pm
Entrance fee: 40,000VND / person

The Vietnam National Museum of History was officially opened for visitors on 3 September 1958. The museum preserves, displays, and introduces Vietnamese history from prehistoric to present through a system of extremely rich and valuable documents and artifacts, including many National Treasures.
The first building is at No 1 Trang Tien Street (Vietnamese History from Prehistoric period to Nguyen dynasty, 1945) and the second building is at 216 Tran Quang Khai Street (Vietnamese History from the mid-19th century to present).

Read more: https://vietnamtravel.com/vietnam-national-museum-of-history/

Vietnam People’s Air Force Museum (Hanoi).

Add:  No.173C Truong Chinh Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi City
Opening hours: Every day except Friday, 8.00am – 11.00am  / 1.00pm – 4.00pm
Entrance fee: 20,000VND / person.

The Vietnam People’s Air Force Museum tells the history of the Vietnam People’s Air Force (VPAF) from its formation in 1954 through to the present day. There is a heavy emphasis on its role in the Second Indochina War (1955-1975) and the Cambodian-Vietnamese War (1978-1989). The museum comprises a static park with aircrafts outside and one main building with displays on the history of the VPAF, biographies of VPAF aces, uniforms and flightsuits, aircraft weaponry and engines, items from downed US aircraft and the forward fuselage of a MiG-21.

Vietnam Military History Museum (Hanoi).

Add:  28A Dien Bien Phu Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi City
Opening hours: Every day except Monday & Friday, 8.00am – 11.30am  / 1.00pm – 4.30pm
Entrance fee: 40,000VND / person

Set up in 1956, the Vietnam Military History Museum is one of seven national museums in Vietnam consisting of various buildings to show the eras of Vietnamese military history. The Flag Tower of Hanoi as one of the symbols of the capital is within the bounds of the complex as well.
The museum also includes a display of decommissioned, captured or destroyed military equipment and vehicles used by French, Viet Minh, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the United States during the First and Second Indochina Wars. This display, located right next to the Flag Tower of Hanoi, has become known as “The Garden of Toys”. There is a Highlands Coffee chain store in which visitors can rest, as well as souvenir shops where one may browse various products.

Read more: https://vietnamtravel.com/vietnam-military-history-museum/

Hoa Lo Prison Museum (Hanoi).

Add: No. 1, Hoa Lo Street, Tran Hung Dao Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City
Opening hours: every day, 8.00am – 5.00pm (including festivals and holidays)
Entrance fee: 30,000VND/person

Hoa Lo Prison was a prison used by the French colonists in French Indochina for political prisoners in subhuman conditions, and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war (POW) during the Vietnam War. The French called the prison Maison Centrale, while it was known to American POWs as the Hanoi Hilton during Vietnam War.
Through ups and downs, the prison was demolished during the 1990s, although the gatehouse remains as a museum.

Read more: https://vietnamtravel.com/hoa-lo-prison-hanoi-hilton/

Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum (Dien Bien Phu).

Add: Vo Nguyen Giap Street, Muong Thanh District, Dien Bien Phu City.
Opening hours: Every day, 6.30am – 5.45pm

Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum is one of the many relic sites in Dien Bien Province, designed in the form of a conical cone consisting of a basement and an upper floor. The decoration around is shaped like a masking net of a helmet.

The display is on the upper floor in an area of 1,250m2 with nearly 1000 documents and objects such as models, statues… presenting the resistance war against the French colonialism of Vietnamese army and people in 56 days and nights of “cutting the mountains, sleeping in the basement, heavy rain, rice squeezed” of the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign.

History and War Museums in Central Vietnam.

Zone 5 Military Museum (Danang).

Add: 3 Duy Tan Street, Hai Chau District, Danang City.
Opening hours: Every day, 8.00am – 4.30pm
Entrance fee: 40,000VND/person & 10,000VND/person for taking photo.

The Zone 5 Military Museum, also known as The Fifth Military Division Museum of Danang, was built in 1977. The museum offers the visitors a glimpse of Vietnam’s tumultuous past with extensive displays of war relics, news articles, and photographs taken by soldiers of the Fifth Military Division. The museum also commemorates Vietnam’s most beloved leader with a replica of Ho Chi Minh’s residence and a separate Ho Chi Minh Museum.

There are two main sections: outdoor gallery and inside gallery with 4 sectors. Its outdoor display area houses authentic aircraft, military tanks, and weapons used during the French and American wars. Most of these exhibits are in pristine condition, with must-sees including the A-37 Dragonfly light-attack aircraft, Cessna O-1 Bird Dog observation aircraft, and the M48 Patton gun tank.

Danang Museum (Danang).

Add: 24 Tran Phu Street, Hai Chau District, Danang City.
Opening hours: Every day, 8.00am – 5.00pm
Entrance fee: 20,000VND/person

Da Nang Museum was established in 1989 and newly built at 24 Tran Phu Street in the campus of the National Monument of Thanh Dien Hai. The museum is invested with display facilities, audio-visual equipment and modern lighting system. The team of explanations and guides are well trained.

Da Nang Museum was officially inaugurated and opened to visitors on April 26, 2011. The exhibition space with an area of ​​more than 3000 square meters includes 3 floors introducing more than 2,500 valuable documents, images and artifacts history and culture of Da Nang City and its vicinity; including more than 1,900 original artifacts collected since the liberation date up to now, especially many precious materials and objects, presented to the public for the first time.

Thua Thien Hue History Museum (Hue).

Add: 268 Dien Bien Phu Street, Hue City.
Opening hours: Every day except Monday, 7.30am – 11.00am / 1.30pm – 5.00pm

Thua Thien Hue History Museum was established in 1976, previously located at the Quoc Tu Giam Monument, holding over 30,000 documents, artifacts and many valuable collections relating to the war between the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong against the Americans and South Vietnamese which lasted nearly 20 years in one form or another from 1955 until 1975.

Recently, the museum has been relocated to new location on Dien Bien Phu Street. This position is in related relic cluster such as Nam Giao flock, Ban mountain, monument of King Quang Trung and on route to visit tombs: Tu Duc, Minh Mang, Khai Dinh, Thieu Tri…so it is more convenient to organize the sightseeing tours as well as an important step towards handing over the entire Quoc Tu Giam Relic to Hue Monuments Conservation Center for management, conservation and promotion of heritage values.

History and War Museums in  Southern Vietnam.

War Remnants Museum (Ho Chi Minh City)

Add: 28 Vo Van Tan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening Hours: Every day, 7.30am – 4.30pm
Entrance fee: VND 40,000/person

The War Remnants Museum is a war museum in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), which is honored as TripAdvisor’s top 10 in the year 2018. It contains exhibits relating to the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War. This museum is currently one of the most popular museums in Vietnam, attracting approximately half a million visitors every year.

Read more: https://vietnamtravel.com/war-remnants-museum-in-hcm-city/

 Independence Palace (Ho Chi Minh City)

Add: 135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening Hours: Every day, 8.00am – 5.00pm
Entrance fee: VND 40,000/person + VND 25,000/person if visit the Exhibits “From Norodom Palace to Independence Palace 1868 – 1966”

Independence Palace, also publicly known as Reunification Palace, is a well-preserved museum which offers a glimpse into the lifestyle of South Vietnam’s bureaucratic elite, while also providing plenty of historical information about two fierce wars against the French and American colonists to end the Vietnam War and reunite the country.

Read more: https://vietnamtravel.com/independence-palace/

Vietnam People’s Air Force Museum, Ho Chi Minh City

Add: 87 Thang Long Street, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Thursday and weekends, 7.30am – 11.00am / 1.30pm – 5.00pm

Another interesting spot for war history buffs, that is Vietnam People’s Air Force (VPAF) Museum, Ho Chi Minh City. This Museum highlights the history of VPAF and their role in the county’s biggest wars. Some of the aircraft on display are Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF, Bell UH-1 Iroquois H model, Cessna U-17A, Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, Mil Mi-8 Hip, Mil Mi-24 Hind A and Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter.

Museum of Vietnamese History (Ho Chi Minh City)

Add: 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening Hours: Every day, 8.00am – 11.30am / 1.30pm – 5.00pm
Entrance fee: VND 30,000/person

Built in 1929, Museum of Vietnamese History is another amazing piece of architecture in Hoi Chi Minh City, influenced by French colonialism. The museum houses a rewarding collection of about 30,000 artifacts illustrating the evolution of the cultures of Vietnam, from the Bronze Age Dong Son civilisation (which emerged in 2000 BCE) and the Funan civilisation (1st to 6th centuries CE) to the Cham, Khmer and Vietnamese.

Museum of Vietnamese History also contains a large space, which emphasizes the pivotal years of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945. Visitors will be mesmerized by the precious clothing worn by royal members as well as understand how normal people lived under the French colonial rule and command of the emperor.

Set beside the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, this makes for a great detour while on the tourist circuit.

Can Tho Grand Prison (Can Tho)

Add: 8 Ngo Gia Tu Street, Tan An Ward, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday, 8.00am – 11.00am / 2.00pm – 5.00pm

Built by the French during the colonial era, Can Tho Grand prison is an important historical site to visit in the city, where Vietnamese revolutionaries and citizens who dissented against the regime were held in cruel conditions, tortured and executed within the walls. The prison has 21 detention rooms, a church, pagoda, a house for the supervisor, and a kitchen. The mannequins depict certain scenes of what it was like in the prison when it was used, and they are quite eerie.

Con Dao Museum (Con Dao Island)

Add: 10, Nguyen Hue Street, Con Dao island, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province
Opening hours: Every day, 7.00am – 11.30am / 1.30pm – 5.00pm

Opened in 2013, Con Dao Museum is home to many artifacts, restored documents, collection of photographs that show what suffering the prisoners went through. The museum is divided into 4 themes: Con Dao – the country and people; Con Dao – hell on earth; Con Dao – the revolutionary school and Con Dao Island today.

There is another separate area in the museum that showcase artifacts depicting the deaths of many communist soldiers and heroic martyrs, including Vietnamese female hero, Vo Thi Sau.

Phu Quoc Prison Museum (Phu Quoc Island)

Add: 350 Nguyen Van Cu Street, Phu Quoc island, Kien Giang Province
Opening hours: Every day, 7.00am – 5.00pm

Phu Quoc Prison is also known as “The Coconut Tree Prison”. This place is a powerful testament to the arduous struggle and indomitable spirit of Vietnamese people in the struggles against the French colonialists and the American empire.

During the resistance war, the colonial, imperialist and henchman authorities imprisoned hundreds of prisoners with various forms of barbaric torture. This place is also the central prisoner of the Republic of Vietnam, holding more than 32,000 prisoners (40,000 prisoners if included multi-period political prisoners).

Coming to Phu Quoc Prison, you will see with your own eyes the brutal acts, the worst suffering that Vietnamese people had to endure. Thereby, the people will more admire the spirit of indomitable resilience and patriotism of the soldiers who had fallen here. Since then, each citizen feels even more responsible for the task of building and defending the country, the unified independence that the fathers had to exchange for their blood and life.